Employee Engagement - Strategies
Various studies have shown that actively engaged employees are almost 50 percent more productive when compared with the not-engaged or disengaged colleagues. Employee engagement cannot be improved only by designing and implementing effective human resource strategies but their involvement and quality of output produced by them also depends on their relationships with their colleagues, subordinates, and seniors.
A perfect balance of respect, care and competitiveness should prevail in the organization to keep the employees actively engaged in their jobs. Mutual support and healthy relationships contribute majorly to the organization’s success. In addition, empowering employees by delegating them responsibilities and giving them autonomy to take decisions regarding their job on their own can also increase their productivity.
How to Keep an Employee Engaged?
Employees who like what they do, like the company they are working for, can bring increased morale, productivity and profits to the company.
What helps to make an employee engaged? Of course, he/she must like what they are doing. But what else?
Following are some ideas −
- Someone has talked with them about their progress.
- Someone is encouraging their development.
- They have been praised recently.
- They have an opportunity to learn and to grow.
- Their manager/supervisor cares about them.
- They know and understand what is expected of them.
There are many more such ideas. However, these seem to be the most important. In our experience, what we have found is that, if you can help your team understand the WHY of your business, educate them on WHAT is important to the business, work with them to define HOW they can contribute daily toward those goals.
What Makes an Employee Engaged?
There are some simple things you can do to ensure that your people are fully involved in, dedicated to, and enthusiastic about their work. Take these steps and your employees will be as engaged in your business and its success as you are.
Create a Partnership − The best way to encourage your people to consistently give their very best on the job is to create a partnership. Treat each employee as a valuable member of your team and give them the autonomy to make decisions.
Involve Your Employees − Let each team have the authority they need to make decisions on their own, especially when the decisions directly affect them.
Be Transparent − Be as transparent with your people as you can be, in terms of providing information on how the company makes and loses money.
Provide Feedback on Performance − Regularly set aside time to tell your people what they are doing right and point out any areas for improvement. If performance is not up to the mark, work with them to develop ideas on how to improve.
Create a Productive Work Environment − A workplace that is trusting, open and fun will be the most productive and successful. Be open to new ideas and suggestions that come from your employees, and show them that their voices are being heard.
Finally, a sincere Thank You for a job well done can be a powerful motivator for continued success and is an essential tool for every manager. Thank your employees personally and promptly when they show positive intent and deliver good results.
How to Keep Employees Motivated?
Many of the following recommendations may sound like common sense, but you would be surprised how many managers neglect to follow them.
- Clearly define your vision.
- Give employees what they want and need.
- Communicate well and often.
- Get everyone engaged.
- Coach for success and practice random acts of kindness.
- Act fairly, respect and create trust (don’t be a jerk).
- Trust and verify, but also try to make work fun.
- Give special attention to high-potential employees.
- Be creative to avoid downsizing.
- Implement incentive programs.
When it comes to job satisfaction, financial rewards may be lower on the list than most people think. Being happy with your job seems to depend more on the intangibles – feeling part of a team and being valued and appreciated consistently outrank money when employees are polled about job satisfaction.
